Linked
by caskett41097
Summary: Three words- Arizona. Callie. Nightmare. Some Calzona fluff to sooth the aching souls. Mid season 8. One Shot.


Callie trudges up the flight of stairs slowly, pushing her extremely tired body over the last few steps. At 11 o'clock in the night, she would've liked nothing more to be curled up with Arizona in their heavenly bed, but an emergency in the hospital had burst that bubble. Now, at 4 am, with only an hour of sleep, Callie was exhausted. Exhausted but happy. The past few days had been amazing- Sofia and Arizona were bonding really well, Arizona had finally gotten over her hesitation with her prosthetic, and they were having mind-blowing sex – and Callie was grateful that her family was slowly falling back in together, piece by piece.

She drags her feet across the hallway and stopped in front of that infamous blue door. The thought of being able to cuddle and sleep with Arizona made her happy. With a small smile playing on her lips, she unlocks the door, and swings it open cautiously- you could never be too careful when Sofia's multitude of toys from her aunts and uncles are scattered all over the place. Immediately, she senses something wrong.

She strains her ears, and she can here noise coming from the bedroom. Crying. Worried, Callie strides across the kitchen island and makes her way to the source of the sound- their bedroom. The sight she sees nearly breaks her heart.

Arizona is on the bed, sobbing, body heaving, mouth pressed to her pillow. Callie can tell that, for Sofia's sake, she's trying to quieten down, who's asleep in the next room, and that somehow feels like a punch in the gut. Curled up in foetal position, on such a large bed, she looks so small. So fragile. She has a phone clutched in one hand, tucked near her stomach, and the other is curled into a fist. Seeing the love of her life like this, in pain, Callie's instincts kick in. She quickly slides onto the bed, and moves to hold Arizona, spooning her from behind.

"Hey, hey, Arizona, you're alright", she mutters, softly, concern dripping in each word. Arizona visibly tenses, which makes her re-double her grip. "It's me, Arizona. Callie. You're here with me, babe. You're safe, everyone is safe", Callie says, hugging her tight. She feels Arizona relax into her body, melting into her as she begins to sob more openly.

Callie doesn't need Arizona to tell her what has got her so upset- she already knows. The nightmares. They'd been frequent initially, right after the crash, but with time, they faded, almost to non-existence. Almost. Occasionally, on a particularly hollow day, Arizona would have a nightmare. In the beginning, it was particularly bad- Arizona was still very upset about her leg, and so she wouldn't let Callie help. Instead, Callie would have to watch from the door, watch Arizona twist and trash, scream in pain and guilt as her mind replayed the horror of the forest. But now, Callie just lies down on the bed, holding Arizona tight, slowly stroking her hair and she mutters soft nothings into her ear, as if reassuring Arizona that she, with everyone else, is safe and fine and home.

Eventually, the sobs quieten, and then they turn into sniffs. Arizona slowly turns to her, eyes puffy and red from the crying, and knuckles white from the vice-like grip on the phone. "Thank you", she whispers, her voice hoarse, and her eyes brimming with tears threatening the spill. Callie pulls her in for a hug, and tries to say everything, to say how much she loves her, in that movement. "You don't have to thank me, Arizona. Ever. I'm here for you, always." Arizona nods slowly, and clings onto Callie. Callie doesn't push her.

After what seems like forever, Arizona untangles herself and sits up. Callie, looks at her with concern, but doesn't say a word. Arizona can sense that Callie's waiting for her to speak. She sighs, "I know, I should've called. I just… I just thought you'd be busy in surgery or with charts or…" she fades off. "Arizona", Callie says softly, "you can call me whenever you need me, it doesn't matter." She avoids looking at Callie's eyes, so the brunette gently pulls up her chin and looks into her blue eyes and repeat firmly, "You can call me. Any time. Any place. I definitely don't care, so don't think about it so much." The Arizona nods, and Callie is satisfied- she can read her wife well enough to know that the message has been received.

"You wanna talk about it?" Shake of head. Then slow murmurs, "Just the," a shudder, "the crash. Mark, Lexie, nothing much." Callie sighs. She desperately wishes so could do something, anything, to ease the pain, to help her wife. They are sitting on the bed, wrapped up in covers, holding hands when the idea strikes her. "You know what?" says the Latina excitedly, "you need to get rid of these horrible memories." The blonde looks at her with such a quizzical face, nose furrowed and forehead scrunched, Callie has to restrain herself from kissing her. "You need to make these memories that are haunting you go away. And you know the best way to do this? Other memories", finished Callie smugly, obviously proud of her genius idea, "As much as I'd like to Callie, I don't think I'm up for some earth-shattering sex tonight" Arizona attempts to joke, giving her a watery smile. Callie just rolls her eyes, which earns her a real, super magic smile, complete with trademark Robbins dimples. She replies with an exasperated sigh, "Not sex Arizona. Get your mind out of the gutter", but even she can hear the amusement in her tone. "I meant revisiting old memories. And I have just the thing", she finished, flashing a confident smile, and leaves the room, muttering under her breath.

Arizona watches from the bedroom, a goofy grin on her face as Callie looks around, poking into random drawers and boxes, fishing things, huffing and puffing, with an occasional exclamation of victory. In a couple of minutes, Callie plumps of the couch cushions, unfolds the pullover, and calls out, "All done. Now get your butt out here, you nerd". "Come and help then, genius", she replies, and Callie is ecstatic that Arizona would be willing take help from her, especially with how touchy she is with her amputated leg. Callie walks into the bedroom, and then before Arizona can start attempting to put on the prosthetic, she sweeps her up, bridal style. Arizona squeals in surprise, and then starts laughing, her nuzzling the crook of Callie's neck. Callie dumps her unceremoniously on the couch, moves forward to put a disc into the DVD player, and then settles back down. Snuggling close me she whispers. "This helped me get through a lot, with your amputation… and Mark". Arizona knows what she's talking about- her bitchy attitude, her ungratefulness, and the absence of her best friend, her co-parent, her person. Arizona can feel the guilt in an instance, and so she wraps her arms around her tight, as if to convey a millions apologies and to tell her that she's never letting go of her Calliope ever again. Callie leans in and hits play.

Over the next few hours, they watch sappy videos they made, goofy ones that Mark and the others like Christina made, and the videos of pure, unadulterated joy caught on camera, either accidently or secretly. But most of all, they watch videos of Sofia, their little angel.

So when at 11 am the following morning, Meredith Grey, with Zola and Sofia on each of her sides chattering away rapidly, comes to drop them over for a play date, she finds the door wide open. Stunned, because it was so unlike either of the surgeons, she walks in carefully, only to be greeted by the most sweet, beautiful sight- Callie holding onto Arizona, almost protectively, wrapped up in a pullover on the couch with the TV screen in monocolour. The young mother smiles at herself, thinking about how lucky the couple is to have each other. She is contemplating over whether she should wake them up, when Sofia makes the decision easier.

Sofia lets go of Meredith's hand and flings herself on top of Arizona, who lets out a small "oomph!" as she lands. "Mami!" yells Sofia, into Callie's ear, which obviously rouses her immediately. Both women grin, takes turns to hug Sofia, when Arizona pulls her in for a tickling session. Callie glances up at Meredith, mouths thank you, who just smiles back.

As Meredith is giving Zola the final rundown and the dos-and-don'ts, despite this being the thousandth time she was sleeping over, Callie turns to her girls. As she watches Sofia shriek and giggle, and Arizona acting like a child, it hits her- they were not the same Arizona and Callie that met in Joe's bathroom; they are now married, have commitments, have a daughter, have been through ups and downs. It may be different, but change is good. They are now stronger and more in love than ever before, and nothing could ever bring them down. They were perfect.

Well, a couple of more children couldn't hurt.


End file.
